Finished in 1779, the Maryland State House is the oldest statehouse in continuous legislative use in the United States. At one time, it housed the Continental Congress and served as the nation’s capital. Over the centuries, it has changed, most noticeably in the dome (1788), the largest wooden dome in the country. The Colonial Revival section of the house, with its Italian marble, was added in the early 20th century.
The visitor passes through the usual security checkpoint into the main hall of the first floor. The first stop should be at the visitor’s information area on the right… an informative brochure is available for self-guided tours while guided tours are offered at 11am and 3pm. The closest room contains a celebration of Maryland’s early history and its part as one of the original 13 colonies. Dominating the display is a full-sized replica of the Maryland Federalist, a boat that, in June of 1788, was sailed to Mount Vernon… a gift from Baltimore merchants to George Washington. (The President’s journal would comment that the boat sank at its wharf 6 weeks later.)
The real encounter with history begins in the blue and white Old Senate Chamber where once sat the Continental Congress which included such notables as Thomas Jefferson and James Madison; this is a house through which several presidents have passed. It is here that George Washington resigned his commission in 1783 and where the Treaty of Paris was ratified to end the Revolutionary War.
Italian marble dominates the House of Delegates just down the hall, where the 141 members represent the people of Maryland. The marble, a striking rust and black, has been used to form soaring columns with Corinthian capitals that reach to arches over the balcony. It is an attractive room, from the sky lighted glass ceiling to the dark blue carpeting. Further on, the New Senate Chamber is a smaller version of the legislative chamber, but decorated in red and white. The walls are decorated with portraits of Maryland’s four signers of the Declaration of Independence.
The Maryland State House is replete with reminders of the past… there is the silver service fabricated in Baltimore by Kirk and Sons for the cruiser U.S.S. Maryland in 1906 and the Charles Wilson Peale portrait of William Pitt, who had championed American rights in the English Parliament. As a whole, it speaks proudly of Maryland’s place in American history.